CH 50

Chapter 50 Sudden Change



Don’t tell me… I was found out?

But, how?

Does Nishino also have a ‘perception’ skill?

I thought he hadn’t noticed yesterday but can it be that he took the skill after leveling up?

Or is it some other skill?



“Someone…… there……”



With unfocused eyes, Nishino extended his hand towards me.

What do I do……?

Should I go?

I don’t feel any monster presence nearby.

I also don’t feel any human presence or somebody is watching.

But…… but—-



“Woof.”



Ah, Momo?!

While I was pondering, Momo appeared before them.

Seeing that, Nishino’s expression got dim.



“….Dog? Hmm, you are……? Ughh, please…… someone, anyone…… a person—”



He couldn’t finish.

It seems like he lost consciousness.

Momo slowly approached him.

And after getting close and sniffing them, he looked at me.



“Woof.”



Are you saying it’s fine to come out?

I guess I have no choice……



“Aka… add the hood.”



“…..(shake-shake)”



The raincoat I am wearing right now are the clothes Aka mimicked.

And because of that, we can change different parts.

The hood Aka added with mimic covered my eyes.

Just in case.

Let’s make it so that he can’t see my face.

I also took out the ‘rucksack’ from the item box and carried it on my back.

And for what it matters, I also put inappropriate amount of things in it to make it look full.

This should do.

My appearance is completely that of a refugee.

I made up my mind and headed towards Nishino and the others.



“…..He’s out completely.”



I tried shaking Nishino and the other girl but they didn’t react at all.

Parts of their clothes were burnt black and blood was flowing out.

Nishino had a lot of scratches and cuts.

The girl’s condition was even worse. A part of her cloth was completely stained red with blood.

As I thought, they probably had a fight with orcs.

Even still, they did a good job running away after encountering that high orc.



“Woof.”



Momo was pulling on my sleeve.

Feels like he is asking me to save them quickly.

Save them, eh……



“….But, there’s next to nothing I can do, ya know?”



I have never even applied first-aid treatment.

The stuff I do know is of no importance at all.

Stuff like carrying them to a nearby empty house so that they don’t get wet in the rain.

Momo just intently looked at me as I worried.



“….Hey, Momo, would you hate me if I were to abandon these guys here?”



And suddenly, I ended up saying that.

In the end, it seems somewhere in my heart, I probably still can’t trust others.

Or I might just be scared of them knowing about the existence of the item box and about the food supply.

It’s also the same with Ichinose.

Even while wanting allies, they can’t step out of their comfort zone.



“….Woof.”



Momo appeared to be pondering a bit and then came close and snuggled up to me.

As if to tell me that it’s okay, that he will stay with me forever.

I see…… I am glad.

I am relieved.

And so,



“….Alright then.”



I shifted the rucksack to the front and carried Nishino.

……Uwoh, humans are surprisingly heavy, huh?

It would have been totally impossible if my status hadn’t gone up.



“Looks like two people at once is not possible for me. I gotta carry them one by one.”



“Woof……?”



I shifted my gaze towards Momo, who looked confused.



“For now, I will carry them into that house. That should be good enough, right, Momo?”



“…! ……Woof!”



Momo kept swinging his tail.

And he also went circles around me like that.

Looks like he’s really happy.

Well, I guess I have no choice… Can’t afford to be hated by Momo.

I carried Nishino and the girl to the empty house nearby.



I laid them down inside the house.

For now, I should take off their wet clothes—-It doesn’t come off?!

It seems that the clothes got too stuck to them because of the rain, which made it hard to take off.

……I guess I should also wipe off the water with a towel.



“Ah, right, I should stop the bleeding…”



Nishino was still alright but the girl must have bled out a lot.

Putting on the bandage…… ah, no, sterilizing comes first, huh?

For now, let’s look at the wound.



“……Hmm?”



When I looked at the wound, the bleeding had already stopped.

I thought the wound was pretty deep from the amount of blood the clothes soaked in.



“…..What’s up with this?”



No matter how you think of it, isn’t the wound healing too fast?

Does this girl perhaps have such a skill?

‘HP recovery’? No, maybe ‘Self-recovery’ or ‘Self-regenerate’?

Either way, although she looks bad, it doesn’t seem like she will die right away.

That’s good.



Ah, but, for what it matters, I should sterilize and bandage it.

Now, all that’s left is to put a blanket on them so that they don’t get cold and leave some extra bandage, ointment, vitamin drinks and stuff in a sack.



This should be enough.

Or rather, I can’t do anything more since I don’t know how to.



“This should be enough, right, Momo?”



“Woof!”



Seems like Momo is also satisfied.

Now then, I guess I will move away before the two wake up.



When I got out, the rain had already stopped.

The clouds cleared and sunlight came peeking through from behind the clouds.



Was it just a shower?

It had already diminished when I was carrying them in.



“….I should better get moving.”



To my surprise, quite a bit of time had passed.

But judging from the fact that Nishino came running from the home center, the orcs might be around there now.

Then, inversely, they should be short in hands at the shopping mall area.

I would probably be good to break through there and head towards the city center.



Or rather, at present, there are no other routes which will allow me to avoid the shadow wolves and the orcs.



That would mean I have to pass by close to Ichinose’s house but that shouldn’t be a problem, I guess.

I mean, I would probably not be shot, after all.

Rather, wouldn’t it be better for her to run as well?

It is certainly true that that high-rise mansion is the perfect place to aim all throughout the city but unfortunately, the monsters’ threat has come very close.



“I guess I will mail her saying that it would be best to run…”



There are a lot of things which feel dangerous about her but I would have an uneasy conscience if she were to die.



“Hmm……?”



When I opened the mail app, there weren’t any unread emails.

Hmm? I definitely thought she would be sending some sort of emails…

I wonder if she is resting?

While feeling a sense of discomfort, I sent the mail.



“……Nn?”



And suddenly, when I looked towards the mansion, I had this uncomfortable feeling.

What is it?

Weird.

I just had a ‘bad feeling’ from the mansion.

That too at a level way more than that of shadow wolves.



“What is going on?”



When I looked closely, I felt like I spotted something on the upper floors.

Is it Ichinose?

No, it is not.

And just when I tried using ‘far sight’it was at that moment.



With a tremendous noise, a part of the mansion’s rooftop collapsed.



“Wha?!”



What? What just happened?

A huge part of the roof just fell off.



A cloud of dust went up and a single monster came out from it with an air of composure.



“—-Ah”



The being projected in my eyes.

Even from afar, with ‘farsight’, I could see “its” figure clearly.



“High orc…”



One tanned orc stood on top of the high-rise mansion with a daunting stance.

Why……?

Why, why are you there?

Weren’t you at the home center?



I looked towards the home center.

I had a ‘bad feeling’. But, it wasn’t as ‘strong’ as before…… it had weakened.

Just about as much I felt with the shadow wolves.



“Ah……”



It can’t be—-it can’t be………



And suddenly, the worst possible scenario came up in my head.



Buildings all around from which one can have an overhead view.

The perfect position to spy one’s prey.



Why did I think that only humans would use that point?



If only that one orc realized that position’s advantage and separated from the flock to search its next prey efficiently—-.

And if it had its eyes on that high-rise mansion for that—-.



Is Ichinose alright?

Or is she……



The high orc slowly looked around the surrounding from the roof—-and then,



“——ah”



Our eyes met.

I wonder if this is what they call getting goosebumps all over your body.



Even though we are this far apart.



The high orc’s gaze was clearly pointed towards me.



Looking at me, it sneered.

As if it was enjoying to its fullest.

As if to say ‘we finally meet’.



“——UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!”



—-it’s scream, echoed.